The aim of health and safety is to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees and members of the public in workplaces within an organisation.
There are many responsibilities, which apply to health and safety. Health and safety is the job of everyone in the organisation. If water is spilt on the floor then the first member of staff to walk past needs to either, clean it up or put a precaution sign up and inform the correct person. To ensure a safe working practise, rules need to be followed. These are statutory regulations, which are laws that cannot be ignored. Voluntary codes also have to be followed which are advisable but not compulsory.
If the organisation fails to protect safety and doesn’t respond to incidents then it can lead to the loss of the organisation.
We need to ensure that good health and safety is carried out. We can do this by regular inspections of the facility and equipment; on going staff training needs to be carried out so all staff are aware of what to do during an incident and how incidents can be prevented. Adhering to legislation and codes of practise, seeking advice from expert safety organisations. Adequate financial resources are important to employ appropriate staff and to give employees correct up to date training.
If good health and safety is carried out there are benefits for the organisation. These can be financial such as low insurance premiums as well as an increase in profits as a good public image will be put across which will attract more customers.
There are many hazards that can occur in an organisation such as:
- Slips, trips and falls
- The temperatures need to be controlled
- Surfaces being even and cleared
- Food being cooked correctly
- Equipment being cleaned to a high standard
- Correct supervision
- Unstable equipment
There are a few things we can do to prevent accidents such as fixing pads onto rugby and netball posts to prevent injury if a participant is to run in to them. Regular checks of fields, halls, gyms, swimming pools, tennis courts etc, this is to check for hazards which have a high risk potential to avoid the incident occurring.
We can also employee specific members of staff such as health and safety officers to ensure all staff training is up to date and the correct members of staff are carrying out the correct procedures within their areas to ensure the regulation are always being met.
If safety regulations are not carried out and an accident occurs then the organisation can be taken to court and fined or on a worse case imprisonment can occur a swell as temporarily or permanently shut down of the organisation.
There can be financial effects such as insurance costs can increase, as well as a loss of customer meaning less profit.
Provision of Ashton Park community sports centre
Ashton Park community sports centre is a small local sports centre that provides a gym, a dance studio, a large multi purpose sports hall and changing facilities. A range of sporting activities take place throughout the day and evening meaning health and safety regulations always apply.
